Repossessing services are like any business. When hired to do a job, they will get a lot of repeat business if they are timely, reliable, responsive, and professional. Governments and private lenders will use repossession if they are owed money and nobody's paying up –– such as tax liens or foreclosure.

The two main items up for collateral in loans are vehicles and homes. If you're starting a business, the personal guarantee often takes the form of a line of credit against the equity in your home. With payday loans, which people use to help them get by until the next paycheck, you have to put up the title to your car as collateral. If you don't pay back the amount you borrowed plus the exorbitant interest, they will gladly send a repo man to repossess your car. In fact, one of the main purposes of many auto towing companies is to repossess vehicles.

Repossession is also a consequence of default on a home mortgage. Not only will this damage your credit and even plunge you into bankruptcy, but you will lose all the equity you might have built up in the house you were hoping to own. However, this is not a happy scenario for the bank either, because when they foreclose on a home, they have to sell and hope they recover enough money to break even.

The lending agent's company granted you debt to finance a home purchase, but they have claim to your home as a way to compensate them when you default. That's when they go to the repo man for assistance. Because the repo man just wants to get paid like everybody else, he will probably not delay, and he might bring law enforcement along to expedite the process.

"Towed vehicle without authorization, I was able to get my car out of towing without paying due to their error. Obviously they were not happy about not receiving a dime from me and proceeded to put a huge scratch on my car. I pointed out newly made scratch to them, front desk person shrugged me off gave me a business card and said “we can’t do anything for you, call in and talk to our insurance dep ..."

If you need to hire a repo man, then you should consider finding a repossessing service that does more than just tow vehicles. Banks hire repossessing services to get payments for vehicles, homes, and other property that people owe, but that does not necessarily mean making the property foreclosed or towing the auto. Sometimes it helps most to keep the people, banks, insurance companies, and state informed with software and letters about the debt. There are many repo man services listed in the online directory, which makes it hard for some people to determine which ones are right for them. We provide a few questions that you can use to help you determine which service is right for you. First, ask the repo man companies how long they have been in business. Those with several years of recovery experience should know the right ways to both inform a person of how their credit will be affected by a lien placed by the bank and how to tow an auto if the person still refuses to pay their debts. Ask the agents if they own their own tow trucks so that they can take a car at any time. Ask them if they are familiar with bankruptcy laws too so that you can avoid an unnecessary lawsuit and know how to file the right documents. If the repo man claims he can get payment, be sure to ask them what methods they intend to use. Banks do not usually want to foreclose on property because they make more by working with the home mortgage debtors before filing for repossession.